NCT04317820

Deep Brain Reorienting in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

The Effects of Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 234 (estimated)
• Sponsor: London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study will evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic treatment, Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), for PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder). Participants will be randomized to either the DBR treatment, or wait-list condition.

Detailed description

This study will evaluate the efficacy of Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) in reducing PTSD symptoms. DBR was designed by Dr. Frank Corrigan, a Scottish psychiatrist interested in the brain mechanisms underlying effective trauma psychotherapy. For this study, participants will be randomized to either the DBR treatment or wait-list study conditions. Trauma processing through DBR involves bringing up a traumatic memory and encourages the client to focus on tensions arising in the muscles of the shoulders, neck, head and face (i.e., those involved in orienting toward a threatening person/event). It is believed that this approach will allow the participant to process the traumatic memory in an emotionally manageable way, changing how it is represented/accessed in the brain's innate defensive system. Online Stream - Assessments will include clinical interviews (pre/post treatment, and follow-up) using Webex video conferencing, and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans (pre/post treatment). In-Person Stream - Assessment will include clinical interviews (pre/post treatment and follow-up), and fMRI scans (pre/post treatment).

Conditions

• PTSD
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)	Trauma processing through DBR involves bringing up a traumatic memory and encouraging the client to focus on tensions arising in the muscles of the shoulders, neck, head and face (i.e., those involved in orienting toward a threatening person/event). The rationale is as follows: Physiologically, orienting to a stimulus, whether external or in the mind's eye, comes before any affective response to it. Here, it is hypothesized that there is activity in certain midbrain structures , i.e.,Superior Colliculi (SC) and Periaqueductal Gray (PAG). The deep layers of the SC bring on a brief (orienting) tension in the neck as well as preparing for eye movements, which is later followed by the processing of raw affect in the PAG. In session, if we can attend to this tension - even if we have to backtrack from the emotion that follows - we can establish an anchor in the body that precedes the affect and is hypothesized to protect against emotional overwhelm.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-09-29
• Primary completion: 2027-07-01
• Completion: 2027-07-01
• First posted: 2020-03-23
• Last updated: 2026-02-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada